Okay. At long last, and after much bludgeoning, I'm setting up a supers game. It's a rules-driven game, using the d20 Modern and Paragon (for powers) rules. Paragon is available at "http://www.knighthawk.strolen.com/Paragon.pdf". (I'm also allowing the feats from Paragon, until further notice.)

I am NOT allowing the following powers: Aquatic Adaptation, Brawn, Duplication, Elongation, Extra Limbs, Flight (yes, I know it's a supers staple; there is a reason), Growth, Physical Invisibility (Mental Invisibility is still allowed), Mind Control, Morphing, Phasing, Probability Control, Shrinking, Teleportation, and Tunneling. I know that it might be a bit restricting, but there is a reason for it, and there's a lot of other powers that are still available. You do NOT have to take a weakness if you don't want to. At game start, only the Standard level for powers, with no Amplifiers, is available.

Modern era (possibly just slightly into the future to allow for some nice toys). Despite the presence of super powers and possible fun tech, magic does exist (although most people don't know it or recognize it's presence.) And it's not all harmless magic, either; I will use all sources at my disposal, including Call of Cthulhu, should the situation warrant it.

I don't intend for this game to mimic the Marvel sort of superhero- At the very least, I tend to object to the idea of a costumed hero. If you want a costume, I'm not disallowing it, but I fail to see the point. A given character's super power does not define that character. In fact, the characters will either start out not knowing they have a super power, or will have discovered it just prior to the game's start.

I'm only accepting eight players, tops. First come, first serve, although I reserve the right to reject a character concept if it does not fit my game. Characters are restricted to humans- no aliens, robots, or magical creatures, please. Please PM me with your character (don't post it until I approve it), in the following format:

Character Name:Age:Occupation:Super Power (and Weakness, if any): Class: (Starting classes are Strong, Fast, Tough, Dedicated, Smart, and Charismatic, and are tied to one of the six primary attributes in the d20 system)Background: (Please make this as detailed as possible.)________________________________________________________________________

High School dropout and ex-jock, Jader has managed to survive on the city streets for the past 2 years solely on his luck and nimble fingers at some points, while at others, the present time included, he's managed to make ends meet doing things that are generally more legal. Jader's always been relatively quick on his feet, and any recent increases in his abilities have gone largely unnoticed on his part.

« Last Edit: February 13, 2007, 08:14:38 AM by Pariah »

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For the love of meat, shut up! No one wants to hear your emo character background! My hands are literally melting away, and I'm complaining less than you!—K'seliss, Goblins

Character Name: Unknown, prefers to be called PoeAge: 22 (?)Occupation: noneSuper Power (and Weakness, if any): Unknown (not manifested)Class: Fast

Background: Poe has no past. Found on the banks of the Mississippi River just outside of Baton Rouge, he suffers from acute amnesia.He was wearing a pair of engineer boots, a black leather trench coat, black leather pants, and a fish net shirt when found. He still had on eye liner, mascara, and d his nails were painted black. He has several piercings, some of them not readily seen.The wallet he carried was empty save for a few dollars, a red wristband (from a nightclub), and a picture of an old factory (unknown).He has a taste for Gothic music (Cruxshadows specifically), and old poetry.He has no direction and wanders through his new life looking for the broken pieces of his old one.

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"Every normal man must be tempted at times to spit upon his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats." ~Henry L Mencken

Born in the landlocked city of Cheyenne Wyoming, most of the other kids thought Sophia was a nut for wanting to see the oceans while everyone else was planning to be cowboys, astronauts and spacemen. While those other kids went on to work on the ranches, and in the factories or moved to Boulder or Denver, Sophia gained a Navy Scholarship to a second string college where she excelled in engineering and physics. After graduation she fully joined the Navy.

After several years of working at Naval bases, and on ships in dry dock or at refit, Sophia was deployed aboard the USS Enterprise for a Pacific cruise. Attached to the engineering staff for the ships engines and the nuclear reactor, she spent most of the cruise deep in the bowels of the ship with the glow of temperature and pressure gauges as the main source of light.

There was an accident. With the coolant feeds to the reactor core frozen, it was only a matter of hours before there would be a meltdown, and the entire mass could go critical. In a tense waiting game, the captain had to balance scuttling the $2 billion dollar carrier to minimize the damage, or wait for his damage control teams to possibly fix the problem. Sophia and two dozen other seamen and engineers battled the valve problem, and fixed it, but only after they all received severe burns and lethal doses of radiation...

Six months later, Sophia was discharged from the Navy and released from the Navy Hospital on Tampa. Unlike the others of the damage control team, her burns healed and she was deemed healthy. As she left, hospital administrators could only scratch their heads, as the other members had one by one perished from their horrific steam and radiation burns.

Character Name: Fr. Michael "Mikey" Joseph Bonaventure O'RourkeAge: 36Occupation: PriestSuper Power: TelepathyWeakness: Code of Honor - Fr. Mikey is bound by his priestly vows to do no evil and lead none into evil. This includes "doing a lesser evil to bring about a greater good" and other similar arguments.Class: CharismaticBackground: Michael O'Rourke was practicaly born into the priesthood. Born and raised in Savannah, Georgia, the glorious city of the Old South, Michael is the second youngest of seven children. Two of his three older brothers joined the priesthood, and one of his sisters became a nun. At 18, Michael studied Religion & Philosophy at Belmont Abbey University in North Carolina where his brother Jim, a Benedictine, lived and worked. Under Jim's guideance, Michael continued his straight-as-an-arrow life and soon entered the seminary. Now at age 36, Father Michael - or "Mikey," as some of his flock have taken to calling him - serves where the diocese sends them. Ever proud of both his Southern and Catholic heritage, Fr. Michael wears the traditional priestly cassock most days and speaks with a healthy Georgian drawl. He is generally soft-spoken but warm, ready to quietly greet any newcomers or strangers. A pair of half-rimmed spectacles sit precariously on the bridge of his nose, ever slipping down. The length of his black cassock makes Michael look only slightly taller than he is, a good 6'2". His straight, sandy blond hair is well groomed and parted. Fr. Michael only recently discovered his abilities, and is still trying to discern if they are a curse, a gift from God, or mere hallucination.

Character Name: Greg "Sugarbear" KellyAge: 27Occupation: former hollywood stuntman and semi-pro surfer, now thrill-seeking adventure guide/marlin and shark fisherman.Super Power: Elemental Control-waterWeakness: PotClass: FastBackground: Greg Kelly earned the nick, "Sugarbear", early on as a teen surfer in northern California. The blond and athletic orphan went on to become a reputable stuntman in Hollywood. One day while on the set, filming a storm scene at sea, Greg nearly drowned due to a malfunctioning set piece, and to make a long story short, pocketed 500k in a lawsuit after taxes took their toll and all was said and done. The miracle however, was that he didnt drown, despite the fact that he was stuck dozens of feet beneath the surf. One minute Greg was making his peace with the gods, next minute he propelled himself out of the water, riding a vertical jetstream, which no one present on the set that day could possibly explain.

Shocked both by what had happened and by his sudden financial windfall, Greg left the Golden state behind, having no known relatives or close friends to worry about, and moved to the opposite coast, near Tampa-St. Pete's, buying a sweet, but not overly fancy houseboat on the Gulf Coast and living the life of a surfer, thrill-seeker, and adventure guide for hire, often taking vacationing "suits" deep into the Gulf for shark and marlin fishing.

Lately, and most privately, Greg has slowly come to grips and has made some sense of his bizarre abilities. He is still unsure of himself, but when the mood strikes, he spends time experimenting off his boat, far from prying eyes.

Recently, Greg has received e-mails from some businessmen, looking for a "outing". He is asked to come to Baton Rouge and escort the quartet on a exploration cruise through the labyrinthine and cypress-choked swamps north of the city. Not needing the money, but his curiousity perked, Greg sails from St. Pete's, soon arriving in Baton Rouge's harbor.

Greg is charming, affable, and generally harmless. Never one to establish long-term relationships however, Greg has a nomadic sense of romance, and strikes few lasting friendships. A rare orphan, one with no hang-ups or issues, Greg takes life as it comes, and is usually smiling. His slight addiction to the ganja, may have something to do with this fact however. dude!

Ah, how I have come to love that sense of accomplishment and victory that I get when I pull the wool over the eyes of a clever player character. What DM Triumphs have you had?

Some of mine:1. Finally killing an incredibly powerful, lucky, annoying player's character.2. Finally achieving a TPK (Total Party Kill)3. Finally achieving a TPK using only traps4. Finally working out how to make it so that d**n wizard doesn't steal the spotlight all the d**n time.

Character Name: Harris, Marcus Nickname Age: 30Occupation: Free Market TraderClass: SmartBackground: The Harris's are old money. They have power and connections. The family (all six siblings) has used those to further its own goals. Marcus's six other siblings have exceptional careers in diverse fields. Marcus originally thought he would be a professional magician. He works his way through college and grad school doing shows (He went to UNLV). He would of gone into the big time, but he knew he just wasn't cut out for two shows and saturday matinees in Vegas. Marcus went into finance as orignally planned. He took to like a duck to water. His MBA was completed by the time he was 24. He went to the market at Merryl Lynch and became a senior fund manager in the course of three years. Unlike most traders, he actually invests money (he can afford to lose) in the market and has made a tidy sum. Moving off the floor, he has become more of a fund advisor now, giving him more free time.

Marcus has always had a more free wheeling lifestyle than his six siblings. He knows people and places in odd places. He also is known to do a favor or two.

Appearance He, like the entire family, has been blessed by Venus. A nearly Greek Complexion, with dark thick wavy hair, and piercing eyes, set off his strong face. His build is a little thinner than average, as well as a little shorter than average. "Scrappy" is how his brother put it. His actions are deliberate and precise.

Character Name: John CapolaAge: 22Class: SmartOccupation: Computer ProgrammerSuper Power: Force Field (undiscovered)Weakness: Code of Honor - due to his religion, he will follow the traditional "Christian" code of honor. Lying, stealing, murder (not killing, murder), etc. All of them are things he will not do. He believes that such things never result in a good outcome, no matter how 'right' they seem to be at the time.

Background

The son of a small town, middle-class family, John was brought up in a solid Christian environment, with loving parents who tried their best to give him a good base to build his life on. As a youth, he went to Sunday School, but fell away from his faith after heading to college. He graduated with Honors from the University of Kansas in Computer Science, and quickly started up his own home-business, writing programs for particular needs.

His hobbies include firearms and explosives, and this last is what caused a complete turn-around in his life. On the side from his business, he applied and recieved a license to make and play around with explosives from the Federal Government, but one day mixed the wrong chemicals by accident. The resulting explosion should have made him the recipient of a closed casket funeral, but for some reason the only injuries he suffered were minor scrapes and a head wound, which explains his lack of memory of what happened after mixing his binaries wrong.

Recognizing divine purpose, John knew he had been given a second chance, and returned to the Church with a renewed faith. He nows runs his business with a better purpose in mind, and seems to be prospering more than ever before.

Character Name: Anatiel (Anat, Ana) KehstoseAge: 26Occupation: Barista (coffee shop employee), waitressSuper Power (and Weakness, if any): Elemental manipulation: Fire (weakness water)Class: CharismaticBackground: Anat was an only child, and her mother always spoiled her. Her father was never around much. He spent most of his time at the race tracks or casinos rubbing elbows with other wealthy people who had similar vices. The usual things: chasing women, smoking expensive cigars, drinking expensive booze and gambling. After spending all of the money he had inherited from his father’s estate, people came after Anat’s father to collect what he owed. He began pawning what he could but it wasn’t enough. Three large men burst through the door, they seemed pretty angry about something but Anat didn’t care what it was, she just wanted them to go away. They were making too much noise. She turned back to the piano that she was plunking away on. Only six years old she loved playing. She wasn’t very good at it yet but she enjoyed it so much. Somebody grabbed her roughly by the shoulder and lifted her off the bench. Screaming and flailing only caused the angry man to smack her in the face. The dazed girl was then tossed upon the floor, her face scuffed on the rough carpet, and her hands were tied behind her. She rolled to one side to see her mom dragged beside her, hands bound by a similar means. Her mother’s beautiful face was battered, her hair a mess, her face streaked with tears. It had happened so fast that Ana barely had time to be truly afraid until she saw her mother. This was a terror that she had never felt before. She had thought her mom could never be hurt by anybody, that she was a super hero, but to see her beaten was a whole new experience. Her own mortality loomed over her as one of the angry men carried a red jug through the front door followed by her father, bound at the hands and gagged. “See this!” a bald man shouted. “This is what happens when you don’t pay your debts!” The bald man gave a sharp nod to his friend with the jug who promptly unscrewed the cap and began dumping the liquid upon Anat and her mother. Anat’s father struggled but was met with a blow to the gut, doubling him over.

The smell… it was awful… Anat was on her knees choking on the fumes, her brown hair plastered to her freckled cheeks. She coughed and gagged, everything was spinning. The fear was too much… her chest felt like it was trying to turn inside out, the room swam around her, the voices became distorted and everything went black as the sound of the match hit her ears….

Twenty years later she still doesn’t remember what happened after she was soaked that day. She found out some time later that her mother was shot and her father was beaten to death. She sometimes wakes up in a cold sweat and can smell the gasoline. She spent her childhood in witness protection under the care of various foster families. She now works two jobs to support herself. She’s no longer in witness protection due to the fact that the man who had her parents killed died of a stroke a few years back. Anat has no close friends, just a lot of people that she knows through working every day. She is never shy around strangers, having dealt with getting a new pair of foster parents every few months for the duration of her childhood.

Ah, how I have come to love that sense of accomplishment and victory that I get when I pull the wool over the eyes of a clever player character. What DM Triumphs have you had?

Some of mine:1. Finally killing an incredibly powerful, lucky, annoying player's character.2. Finally achieving a TPK (Total Party Kill)3. Finally achieving a TPK using only traps4. Finally working out how to make it so that d**n wizard doesn't steal the spotlight all the d**n time.

Cliff's Note version: Everyone happened to be in a bus station, when a group of thugs with automatic weapons busted in and started shooting up the place. Said thugs got taken down, but they killed one person, and injured two others. John stayed behind because of a bullet to the chest, while the others were led away to a safe house by a mysterious stranger.